Tibetan exiles organise protest march

Shimla, Aug 2: In an attempt to draw international attention Tibetans living-in-exile here organised a protest march by raising slogans, holding placards and banners,to free their homeland, with just about a week to go for the Beijing Olympics.

"We are organizing this to show our solidarity and support with our Tibetans inside Tibet who are facing lot of problems under the Chinese Government rule," said Sonam, Welfare Officer of Administration of Tibetan government-in-exile, Shimla.

Tibetans said they believed in peaceful protests to highlight their plight.

"This the only thing that we can do because our Tibet is a spiritual land. So, we cannot do such kinds of terrorist things. This is the only thing we can do like hunger strikes, peaceful march, candlelight and sending news to any kind newspaper. We cannot do anything more than prayers and requesting all international communities," said Shedup Yonten, a Tibetan monk.

About 50 Tibetans also sit on a day-long hunger strike here under the banner of Tibetan Solidarity Committee.

The Tibetans also plan to launch a mass movement based on the principles of Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent struggle under the aegis of Tibetan Youth Congress from August 7. The Beijing Olympics begins on August 8.

Exiled Tibetans have been holding rallies and demonstrations to protest against Chinese policies in Tibet across the world.

China resumed fence-mending talks with envoys of Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, on July 1 in a move that could burnish its international image weeks before the Chinese capital hosts the Olympics.

It is the second closed-door meeting between the representatives of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese Government since rioting erupted in Tibet in March and heaped international pressure on China to deal with the Nobel laureate.

ANI